Nwaba Wins Big West Heptathlon Title, Shattering the UCSB Record

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Barbara Nwaba won the Big West heptathlon championship with a score of 5552 points, breaking her own UCSB record by more than 300 points. The result ensures her a spot in the NCAA Championships and will likely be among the national leaders.

Nwaba began the day with a long jump of 18'2.50" (5.54m) for 712 points, allowing Desirae Gonder of Cal State Northridge to close the gap slightly. Nwaba then edged Gonder in the javelin with a throw of 113'10" (34.71m) for 566 points, and sealed the deal with a strong 800m time of 2:17.80 for 854 points.

This is the second time this season that Nwaba has broken her own UCSB record. Her previous personal best was 5212, set at the California Invitational Multi-events on April 15.

Other Gaucho results from the heptathlon included Christina Nowak finishing fifth with a score of 4737, moving up to fourth on the Gaucho all-time list. Maureen Ajoku was sixth with 4590, placing her sixth all-time. Grace Esslinger finished 10th with 4308, and Jessica Brag was 11th with 4282.

Mike Powers was the top Gaucho in the decathlon, finishing fourth with a big personal best of 6986. His top score on the day was 823 in the 110m hurdles, with a time of 15.22. Josh Codding picked up a point for the Gauchos with an eighth place finish, scoring 6427.

After the multi-events, the team scoring situation is as follows. The Gauchos are currently leading the women's competition with 17 points, followed by Cal State Northridge with 14 points and UC Davis with five points. Northridge leads the men's competition with 16 points, followed by Cal Poly with 9, Long Beach State with 8, and the Gauchos with six.

The Big West Conference Championship Meet is next Friday and Saturday, May 14-15, at Cal State Northridge.